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Well I'm laying over in northern Nevada for some detecting before heading back to Idaho and my summer job, and decided to go revisit an old dink patch with the GPZ 7000 this afternoon. Since I've hit this place pretty hard, I figured I better use a higher sensitivity setting to see if it would light up some bits that were missed last time using a lower sensitivity that helped keep the alkali rich ground feedback under control. Needless to say, I had to move the coil painfully slow over the really noisy areas, but the extra sensitivity started working its magic right away, as I got a faint but repeatable little wobble. Digging down about 3 inches or so revealed the first little bit of yellow. 🙂 Soon there was another signal a few yards upslope; another shiny golden bit, this time a little deeper. I couldn't help but wonder at this point how much deeper the new GPX 6000 will be able to snag dinks like these, and how many the Zed is leaving behind. 🤔 Guess I'll find out when I finally get mine. Just then I was awakened from my wonderings by a sharp response from the Zed; sounding pretty shallow, the tiny target was out from under a bush with just a boot scrape. And I mean tiny! One more golden goodie sitting on bedrock ended a splendid, sunny afternoon in the goldfields. Total weight of todays finds, zero point six of a gram. Good luck out there!

Hi, i wanted to include some finds in with yours. I just got back yesterday from a short trip out to WA goldfields to give you a comparison of what can happen between different years. Shows how easy it is to miss a target with different machines. The first photo is from mid 2017 of a find with my 5000. Top of the world and sent off photos to the family etc. as you do. Just below the bottle top I think was about 3.5 grams. Last week went back to the same location. You will note the ground is much dryer, a bad water season. I used my Z7000 this time and picked up a 2.07 gram piece shaped like a bent nail. Its on the top of the coil. The location is within a meter from the last find. Would love to have a 1.5 ton excavator to scrape of the soil cover. You can see the hard rock which drops down to the creek level and all finds have been on the top of the rock level and all look long and skinny in shape. Plenty of nuggets still to find I think. The next photos show a find the next day which blew me away. A different creek that has been well worked over and plenty of pieces found over the years. This shows how important to move fallen timber although these branches where not large. The 7000 gave me the reversed signal tone. My settings were high yield the difficult due to the hot rocks etc. Cheers sturt

Well after a long frustrating wait for Nokta's multi frequency machine, I could no longer wait or hold out. I received my new equinox 800 on the 19th and did some air tests and made a list of the VDI's and played with flipping the tones for my liking. After thinking the machine was just OK with some of my basic testing, It was time to run across the street to give it a run. I will tell you all that I have hunted this area to death with my MK. ( or so I thought) I only had 90 minutes to give its first test. I decided to dig every target with an 18 or higher VDI. Just trying to decifer my new sounds. First 5 min. netted some clad, but the next 85 broke all my records. first 3 coins after the clad were large cents, the next was a draped bust 1/2 cent (bucket 1) The next was a paper thin copper with a shield, could it be? Yes it was a New Jersey copper. I have been chasing this coin for years (bucket 2). Then a single button and an Israeli 1/2 shekel (not sure how that got there). I only had a few minutes left to hunt when I got a faint 18 on the nox and hit a button at 10 inches, But that wasn't all this hole had to give. It was like a button slot machine, 12 in all and total of 15 inches down. My wonderful wife called and I had to leave for dinner. I have to say the most impressive feature on the nox is the noise cancel, It made the site come back to life. As for settings, Park 1, sensitivity 17, and custom tone breaks and t1 - 1 t2- 25 t3 - 15 t4 - 10 t5 - 5 Tone sounds, I run them to get low tones on copper targets. Sounds odd I know, but it works for me. Have to say I'm impressed with the first 90 minutes I've run the 800.

Norm, I read it and I didn't know what to say. I've thought about it and still don't know what to say. I know you have lived with your family history but most of us were unaware. I've seen you over the years in several parts of the west. Each time you always greeted me/us with a warm smile and you were able to show me some nice nuggets. I'll miss seeing you in those places but I'll always think of you and Heather feeding the hummingbirds on Tom Wells Road. Your spirit lives with the hummingbirds for me. Please post up some of your favorite finds so we can share the memories with you. Your friends Mitchel, Lu, Curtis and Colgan

Your strength to be open about this is the kind of strength that marks you as a Special Person, one who inspires. May your lurking here be full of golden moments.

Very sad to hear that Norm. I do hope that any potential therapies that are available to you are helpful in managing symptoms and improving quality of life. I'm not sure what Palliative Care services are like in the US but here in Aus it is better to be linked-in well before you think you need them as they can provide lots of assistance, advice, equipment and support for the client and their families. A lot of people are shocked when we bring up Palliative Care so early because they think it means they must not have much time. We have to reassure them that PC isn't all about death, it is about living and living well. All the best to you and your family. And I hope the goings on of the forum can brighten your day every now and then 🙂 N.E.

For my favourite field this was the very last visit of this years season, the ploughing and seeding happening in the last few days I won't return until after whatever grows is harvested. On this last visit a few odd buttons, a couple small copper coins and a very healthy looking silver coin. Healthy being round, the older hammered silver coins when found normally a little bit clipped - and not quite round. I was nowhere near a colonial site, and for a UK find this was completely unexpected. I was suddenly taken to being on a quest to find some Discovery channel lost treasure. The pillars and crown much seen on the detector prospector forum as the sought after reale - but this one a fraction of some kind, and I suspect a quarter reale? Date looks to be 1802. The mint mark only partial, perhaps an R, but the coin diameter 16mm - very much the same size as a British 3d (3 old pence, or quarter shilling). None of my books has anything much on Spanish coins (not really found much over here) - so any expert help appreciated. Close up pictures, threepence 16mm coin is laying over the top and the edge of the Spanish silver is just visible at the top. ?

Poked around my local park for a bit with the Multi Kruzer, 3 tone, and Superfly coil (too lazy to swap it out). First hit was a 19 in the foil range and turned out to be a thin 10k gold ring. Not long after that I hit another 19, dug it and it was a chocolate still in the foil wrapper score! 🙂 Rest was some clad and bits of can slaw and some junk I dug out of curiosity to finish the night out.

Hey Norm, sorry to hear the diagnosis. It's hard to do at first but keep your spirits high and thoughts positive, and don't give in because you probably still have a lot of life ahead of you. I have to believe that deciding to take control of our own fate by believing we will persist for as long as we can has real effect. I have somewhat similar issues as occurs in ALS so I can kinda relate, and my clock is ticking too, with sclerosis in my brain and c-spine that left me partially paralyzed and without muscle control in other areas, and blind in one eye, thankfully much of which I recovered. Some might be luck, but I think some is just refusing to give up until we are ready and not accepting less. Life is a fatal diagnosis for everyone afterall from the day were are all born, and we all fight to stay alive daily just against the elements, so getting another diagnosis later on can be looked at as nothing but another hurdle along the way that might take a little more fighting. Stay positive, believe that you have some power over your body to keep going, and I think it will carry you forward longer than doctors think. Keep working your brain. I like to play chess daily to keep my mind sharp when I feel some decline or end up with new brain lesions, doing prospecting and geology research also helps. If you have anything like that that takes some brain work, keep it up, keep active where you can. I feel like it forms new pathways in the brain when old ones get damaged and maybe prolongs decline. Good luck man.

Norm I have been in a lot of forum, and have seen a lot of good people some have now gone but you are still here, and are one of the top people that I have enjoyed following. Don't get too upset with the bad news there is always some hope to enjoy what time you have left. I had a good health record except some bad accidents that were considered very bad head injuries. That changed 6 years ago with AF that they could not control even with drugs, pacemaker, Catheter ablation and Cryoablation. That worked for awhile (1 year) three weeks after getting an A plus from the specialist I had a Cardiac Arrest at home on the lawn. The pacemaker recorded that I had no heart beat for over 22 minutes. Luckily with 30 minutes of rapid CPR and a helicopter trip to Melb. 100 miles away the medical staff saved me Not forgetting them telling the Wife that chances of making it would be highly unlikely and if I did there would be lot of brain damage. Now the electric of my heart are totally reliant on an auto ICD with a defibrillator. Well I beat the odds now it is your time to do the same. Stephen Hawking had ALS. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is two to five years, but some patients may live for years or even decades. (The famous physicist Stephen Hawking, for example, lived for more than 50 years after he was diagnosed.) so the odds are different for every one. Let hear some more of your gold expeditions and other enjoyable memories, and don't let the bad news ruin the time that you have. Regards Geof.

Good chance Jason and I may hook up before then so Jason can use my 6000 and compare to his gear. So if nobody answers, wait a month instead of eight. The GPX 6000 can hit sub grammers as good or better than a stock 7000. But I guess you need to see it with your eyes. Sure, you can put a Nugget Finder or X Coil on your GPZ to get it up to 6000 performance. If that's the question, then getting the Nugget Finder or X coil is the way to get there.

Norm, I am so sad to hear this news and will keep praying for you to get better. My grandfather had a friend that passed from ALS several years ago and I know how he felt about that. We all here will greatly miss your input and knowledge, and wish you luck on this battle against your sickness. I believe that there is always hope when people pray, so I want you to know that we will be praying for you. Caleb

It could be all the difference in the world. You could save years of wasted time, and for a lot of people, if success does not come soon, they quit. Training helps stop that from happening. No mater how much you study, no matter how many videos you watch, nothing beats having an experienced person show you real live gold digs in the field. Most people are passing nuggets every trip, and simply not hearing them. It's a very subtle business, and easily one of the hardest types of detecting you can undertake. Finding that first nugget without help can be quite daunting. Yet I find gold every trip. That is the disparity of results we are talking about. So yes, do get training if at all possible. Best money you will spend.

The cable gland is in front because it is the technology inside that imposes it. (coil specifications) There will be less variation due to salt water during a swing.

Norm, Your a Champion, a Man Among Men and one of my Favorite Prospectors! Take advantage, Be positive and Keep on Keeping on! Rick & Robin

Hi Norm. That’s a terrible diagnosis, and my heart goes out to you and your family. Truth is all our days are numbered, and the best any of us can do is take it a day at a time. Nobody really knows what tomorrow may bring. In that spirit I hope you find a reason to smile today, and hope you have a better day tomorrow.

It’s so good to know I’m not the only one on here that their mama drop them on their head several times when they were a baby. Chuck

Had a couple hours while my wife was shopping today, so went to a sports field to hunt for jewelry. Glad I did, early in the hunt got a solid 15 on the Equinox at about 6". Texas turf is getting pretty hard packed by this time of year, so digging was tough, especially working to leave the field the way I found it. Out popped 14k class ring. I was happy to see a name on the inside, and with a little research located the owner. Unfortunately, since passed away, but I will try to reach out to the family to return it. My first gold of the year, and my first class ring. Separate signals on opposite ends of the field, I got similar 12-13 signals, and pulled silver from each... first the chunky chain marked .925, then the child sterling cross. Also a pocket full of clad including a Martin Van Buren $1 Coin. All in all, a good day. ~Tim

I’ve been detecting for gold for a VERY long time and have seen a lot of crazy things happen over the years but this recent experience takes the cake. On the same day but prior to when I filmed my son Joshua digging some gold with the GPX 6000 I heard Josh calling out to me to come take a look at what he was holding. I was perplexed to say the least because it looked like a big dead stick, so I just assumed he had some sort of interesting critter sitting on the stick and wanted to show me. When he got closer I couldn’t see anything that might have attracted his attention but he was looking at the stick very closely, so I just assumed it must be a tiny critter. Then he started mumbling something about getting a signal and how he had kicked the stick away and the signal had disappeared so he went and waved over the stick again and pow a signal coming off the stick!! At this stage I’m thinking a 22 Bullet or a slug gun pellet wedged in the wood. Then I saw what it was that had got him so excited!! 😝 Yep thats a small nugget wedged into the wood, how the dickens it got in there is anyone’s guess. I’m thinking it was in the gravelly wash around the trees root bowl and the tree had been blown over during a rain event (it’s obviously very old) and maybe a nugget had come up with the root bowl and then been washed across the trunk with the nugget then wedging itself into the crack!! Anyway it seems the GPX6000 can find gold in all sorts of strange places. 😂

I see some fusion crust on that thing, is this a...

Great post Jason, said it better than I could myself. The body is a complex thing, and medicine still only half understands it. While life persists there is always hope.

Scientifically what you have found is called "urbanite". It's a rare instance where geology and archaelogy blur together. This may or may not be sarcasm.

Norm - My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. Keep on truckin my forum friend. Even though you might not get to post finds anymore, please keep on posting your thoughts, knowledge and experience. That alone is still a great asset and much better than gold pics! Still wishing for the best for you Norm!

Nenad got a deep target signal, so decided to test the various sensitivity settings. Also see how targets sound with and without an audible Threshold in the Auto options. And maybe a late "surprise" as well.

Just in from Australia, GPX 6000 11" coil found 25 gram nugget at 600 mm (23.6") deep. Looks like it can go deep! https://www.prospectingaustralia.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?id=34961&p=25 Bill

Heya Norm Never give up ! Doctors are people too and they aren't always right . People amaze doctors every day . (Probably more than we know with those HIPA laws..) How many people do you know that the doctors didn't get their meds right the first time? Almost everybody I know including me ! The body is one hell of a complicated piece of engineering . I agree with the others here saying stick around and participate not just lurking . Keep sharing your experiences past with us less clued in . Post those old finds , tell us again how you found them . Forums are what keep me from going crazy (well , more crazy) during our loooonnnnnggggg cold winters here in "East Coast Alaska" ! The days can pass quickly online....... Always remember , we're pullin' for ya ! And if you gotta go down , do it kickin' and fightin' to the last breath !!!

Metroite?

It’s been my pleasure to know you through this forum Norm. I pray you and your families days together are pleasant and warm. Mike

All my best wishes Norm. Never give up! I work in healthcare and I can tell you that nothing can be predicted with absolute certainty. Many times patients with a terminal disease live way longer and reasonably well than what was forecasted. It is actually not rare at all. I wish you strength for the days ahead!

It's part of a Window Demolition kit. I believe it's in the 1900 Sears catalog. Your photo isn't blurry enough.

Joined this forum and wanted to say hi. Started detecting in January when I purchased an Equinox. Have only been detecting on the beach areas around Fort Myers so far and love it.

Sorry Steve, after your brilliant reaction to a similar post I just couldn't resist.. I fully agree with what you told the other punter.. This unusual specimen was once part of an ancient rock formation.. Any ideas what it could be? I'm guessing a meteorite.. 😬

On the east coast I am running about the same 50/50 for pre 1850 silver (Capped Bust / Seated) vs Reales. What is really hard is Draped Bust silver in my area. On the lower coast they find them occasionally, but interior wise I haven't found one yet. The most common Spanish I have found is in the 1770's - 1790's Carlous varieties. Occasionally the 1800's stuff comes up. What we drool over from the western part of the country is the "S" mintage coins, the gold coins, gold nuggets and the meteorites.

Hey Norm sorry to hear the news, will keep you in my prayers buddy. Take care Patrick S.

A buddy of mine bought a 6000, we might do some exploration this winter in new parts of AZ so I should get a good idea of how it performs compared to my various X Coils, of which I own a 12" (and many others, including concentrics) and I assume this X12 is similar if not slightly better than the Z Search 12. So, if no one answers before then, wait about 8 months and I will. From what I've seen of the 6000 from reviews, that's what I'd be using in the Black Hills personally because there isn't a whole lot of competition up there where every iota of performance gain counts (compared to AZ anyways), and there are a lot of picker to sub gram nuggets. The 6000 is clearly equaling or outperforming the 7000 on the sub-gram stuff from what I'm seeing, at any depth. That said, I have to believe there is something new in the ZVT realm coming out eventually. The "GeoSense-PI" thing sure seems to indicate that "GeoSense-ZVT" (ZeoSense?) is on the horizon to me, combined with the patents I've read and the investor presentation saying 5 new products are in development right now. And I love my 17" round and 8" X Coils quite a lot, if I could use them with a better ZVT machine then heck yeah, sign me up and I'll buy that instead of the 6000. If not then I'm allllllllllmost tempted to sell my Z and get a 6000 based on what I'm seeing so far, but not quite yet until I see what the future holds.

I am so sorry you got that diagnosis. My prayers are with you and your family. You never know what God might do for you.

Very awesome thread Lunk and Sturt! This kind of thread gets me fired up to get back to my gold fields and find some gold when ever that will be. I might have to find new ways to dig up targets from how I normally would being I don't have anywhere close to the range of motion in my foot/ankle that I used to have. I also will have to be mindful not to move my left leg in a few different ways, so I don't get a sudden, shooting, dagger pain in my hip as well. Time will tell down the road, but for a while longer I am happy seeing and hearing all you mates finding gold like this. Congrats to both of you on your splendid gold finds.

SD stood for super detector, GP stood for Ground penetrating, GPX stood for Ground penetrating extreme. If you look back at all of the sd models,gp models and gpx models, the number did in fact resemble the price even if they did not mean for it too. Give or take roughly $500. Even the X-terra series the price was close to the number of the detector model. 305,505 and 705. When you got the gold package the price shot up to roughly $1000, because it had extras. The SDC was a slightly different operating frequency, a very fast one. I knew as soon as it was released they were coming out with a GPX 6000 that the price was going to be around the $6000 mark. I am sure the GPX 6000 is majority a GPX in nature with some features of SDC, GM 1000 added to it because the technological advancements of simplicity is what they are finding people want. To be able to turn on and go, and not having to worry about are they in the best timing for the area they are detecting. It levels the playing field to a point between those that are experienced and those that aren't. That leaves each person's ability to slow down while detecting and desire to dig every target being the factors that enable someone finding alot of gold and someone that finds some gold but not as much. Steve summed it up in the Novel thread regarding this.

That's what I found in my shorts last season when I found a 3.55ozt nuggie.......

Thanks for that. I think I was so caught up thinking it was a quarter that I hadn't looked hard enough at the half reale sizing. That's now sparked the memory that different arrangement of local currency valuation - so the 8reale was valued at near enough 5 shillings UK - continued long after in history to be the foundation of difference between the $ (US) and the £sterling. This one was pretty well in the middle of the field, but those shady areas are always looked at, and the areas where the shade used to be. Any ploughed out hedges, or any holly bushes in live hedges - which are sometimes a sign that a tree used to be nearby long ago.

Seems like some great finds when you know your detectors, and I am going to be learning mine. Thanks for the stories and pictures, and as always good luck on your next hunt.

Looking forward to see your review on the GPX 6000.

Hope demand is not overriding quality control. I find myself in a holding pattern for one myself. Chuck

That is quite a haul for a hammered place across the road! I wonder what you will find when you get used to the detector! haha (You may want to dig lower numbers because I've found that deep targets come up when you get them close or out of the hole.) Mitchel

Same here. Padded plastic bag. No issues with mine.

I received my 5x10 in a padded bag. It works great.

If you TRULY want to be a AU GETTER, and not merely a "nuggetshooting wannabe", get training from a qualified trainer, as well as from the better nuggetshooting "how to" books and YouTube videos. There are NO shortcuts to success in the goldfields.

Brutal day today, but the farmers came early to disc. 20 mph constant with gusts to 35, never got much above 50. Felt like March. Hunted along the other side of that road today, I have never found so many bullets but I dug them all because they ID'd at 21-32. 😵 I stayed on one side of the road while they disced the field on the other where I was last time. Got about halfway up the road and hit a solid 18. Dug my first 1980 memorial. Swung around where I found it and to my surprise found 9 more, and what appears to be a rifle or shotgun takedown pin. Also found a piece of broken glasses frame there, I can only imagine what was going on that day. Got a pistol ball, a 7-30 Waters cartridge, a piece of decorated copper that could have been a ring. A small pin, some kind of jumping frog or entity and a large wingnut rounded out the relics: My battery started to get low, I started early. Went back to the house real quick and got my backup charger battery, it's power delivery and can charge the Equinox 3 times. Just taped it on and went back. 😀 Rural engineering at it's finest! Made the Equinox heavier, but you play, you pay. An hour later it was fully charged. Up by the trucks and my golf cart I made my find of the day: 1943 Mercury Dime. All's well that ends well. Oh, and the trash, never dug so much: I counted 21 bullets.

I did notice the 6000 finding birdshot or snake shot in areas I know other detectors flat out missed. Is that a good thing? I think so, but it’s a be careful what you wish for result, more sensitivity = more bird shot?

Congrads on the new coil! When they first sent me one to test last fall they sent it with out the lower rod also. I was a little puzzled at first....I notified them of the problem and they were very fast in getting one out to me.. Mistakes happen..... More then once looks like. Having the 8 inch coil and not being able to use it right away ..... I grabbed one of my Xtra Excalibur lower shafts and took off about 1/32th of a inch on each side. Fit perfect... Enjoy that 8 inch.. And keep us informed on how it works.